Tata Steel’s European boss will join thousands of steelworkers on Monday in a protest against “unfair” practices by Chinese firms, amid rising diplomatic tension with the People’s Republic.
Karl Koehler will take to the streets in Brussels as part of a demonstration against what Tata Steel called a “flood of unfairly traded imports into Europe”.
More than 5,000 steelworkers are expected to march through the Belgian capital on the same day as business ministers, including Anna Soubry from the UK, meet in the city to discuss a remedy.
The steel industry is demanding a tougher stance by the EU against Chinese steel firms “dumping” cheap steel on to the EU market. They will call for European leaders to block China’s bid to be granted market economy status (MES) by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a milestone that would make it harder to limit Chinese imports.
The march has been triggered by a crisis in Europe’s steel industry that has resulted in 5,000 job losses in the UK alone since last summer.
Industry figures have blamed Chinese firms, which have responded to a domestic slowdown by offloading steel in Europe at below cost price, undercutting local producers.
Koehler said: “The situation facing Tata Steel and other European steelmakers today is perilous. If the European commission does not take immediate and robust action, thousands of jobs in the industry – and many thousands more in the wider supply chain – will be threatened.
“We are not asking for special treatment. Instead, we are asking for the European commission to stand up for fair trade and to give European steelmakers a chance to compete on a level playing field.”
European leaders have put forward proposals to raise tariffs on Chinese steel in the face of a surge in imports to the EU which have soared from 4.5m tonnes in 2014 to a projected figure of 7m tonnes for last year.
The glut of steel has seen the price of hot rolled coil in northern Europe – an industry benchmark – slump from €600 (£465) per tonne last summer to about €350 (£270) per tonne.
Efforts to shore up Europe’s defences against cheap imports drew fire from China’s commerce ministry. “China hopes the European commission will strictly abide by World Trade Organisation rules, show prudence and restraint and use trade remedy tools in accordance with the law,” it said.
The UK has refused to back European proposals that would allow for much higher tariffs on Chinese steel, but Soubry hailed the government’s efforts.
The Guardian.com